Gaging device



May 27, 1958 Filed Oct. 14, 1955 H. LL. BOPPEL GAGING DEVICE 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. A ,4, ,4 2' 71 May 27, 1958 H. L. BOPPEL 2,'835,982

GAGING DEVICE Filed Oct. 14, 1955 4.Sheets-Sheet 2 May 27, 1 H. m... BOPPEL GAGING DEVICE Filed Oct. 14, 1955 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR.

May 27, 1958 H. L. BOPPEL GAGING DEVICE 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Oct. 14, 1955 INVENTOR.

United States GAGING DEVICE Application October 14, 1955, Serial No. 540,524

11 Claims. (Cl. 33-174) This invention relates to gaging apparatus and more particularly to an apparatus for gaging dimensional characteristics of articles such as crankshafts for internal combustion engines.

It is an object of this invention to provide an apparatus forgaging dimensions of an article such as an engine crankshaft wherein the article is received at a position above a gaging station and is lowered onto locators within the station for gaging following which the article is lifted from the locators and carried upward to an unloading position.

It is a further object of this invention to provide such an apparatus wherein receivers for supporting the crankshaft have a first position below the locators of the gaging station whereby the crankshaft or the like is solely supported by the locators during gaging, the receivers being movable to a second position above the station for loading and to a third upward position where the crankshaft is automatically released from the receivers for movement down guideways for unloading, provision being made for automatically orientating the crankshaft cranks during the unloading movement.

It is a further object to provide a compound actuating means for raising and lowering an article handling means wherein dual cylinders are relatively fixed and contain pistons, one connected to the article handling means and the other to the apparatus base, extension of one piston raising the handling means and article receivers to a first position above .the gaging station and the joint extension of both pistons raising the receivers to a second still higher position, one position being provided for loading and the other for unloading.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description, the appended claims, and the accompanying drawing, in which,

Figure 1 is a side view in elevation of an apparatus for gaging dimensional characteristics of an engine crankshaft and embodying the present invention,

Figure 2 is a front view, also in elevation, of the upper portion of the apparatus of Figure 1,

Figure 3 is a plan view of the apparatus,

Figure 4 is a sectional view on line 44 of Figure 2 showing a portion of the gaging station,

Figure 5 is a fragmentary view taken on line 5-5 of Figure 2,

Figure 6 is a sectional view taken on line 6-6 of Figure 3 showing the article handling means in a loweredposition with a crankshaft in gaging position.

Figure 7 is a sectional view similar to that of Figure 6 with the article handling means raised to unloading position, and

Figure 8 is a fragmentary side view illustrating the actuating structure for the crankshaft retaining fingers as it appears when the crankshaft is released.

The apparatus of the present invention is adapted for the handling'and gaging of various articles but, as an illustrative example, it will now be described as applied men ternal combustion engine.

The particular illustrated apparatus is provided for situation in a production line for producing engine crank- Shafts. It includes a gaging station for supporting the crankshaft and gaging dimensional characteristics of the crankshaft journals. Crankshaft handling means are provided by a pivotally mounted article handling table supported on the apparatus base. This table includes crankshaft receivers at one end thereof and guide means extending from the receivers. Actuation of the table to raise the receivers to one position above the gaging station carries the receivers into position for receiving a crankshaft from a transfer mechanism provided in the production line and not disclosed in detail. The receivers are then lowered through tilting of the table to a position below the gaging station during gaging and are raised to a third position higher than the loading position where the crankshaft is released from the receivers for movement down rails or guideways to an unloading position. Simultaneously with the movement of the crankshaft during unloading its cranks are orientated in a particular disposition as desired.

The apparatus has a base 10 which supports a gaging station 11 and pivotally carries the article handling means 12. The gaging station includes a pair of V-shaped locators 14 which are provided to engage journals of the crankshaft to support the crankshaft and locate it during gaging. Gaging assemblies 16 are provided to gage other journals of the crankshaft.

One of these gaging assemblies 16 is illustrated in more detail in Figures 4 and 5. The assembly' comprises a caliper-like arrangement having a pair of arms 18 and 19 both pivoted for swinging movement on a shaft 20 which runs through the gaging station. Arm 18 is biased in a counter-clockwise direction by spring 21 to a position determined by an adjustable stop 22. Arm 19 is biased toward arm 18 by spring 25 acting between the arms. An adjustable stop 26 fixes the closest position to which the arms may approach one another. Arm 19 supports a pair of air leakage type gaging cartridges 29, although other sensing units may be employed. Such cartridges are of a type wherein a movable work contactor which engages the surface of the article to be gaged is slidable relative to a leakage orifice contained in the cartridge body to vary the leakage therethrough in accordance with the gaged article dimension or movement. A cartridge of this type is illustrated more particularly and described in U. S. Patent No. 2,691,827 issued October 19, 1954. A conventional air-electric circuit can be employed to convert the changes in fluid leakage into electrical signals for actuation of the article handling means as desired. For example, the leakage through the gaging cartridges can be effective to vary the pressure within a fluid responsive bellows or Bourdon tube for actuating electric switches. A unit which could be employed is disclosed in U. S. Patent No. 2,448,653.

ing gaging is also movable to avoid damage to the gaging assembly due to errors in part position.

Article handling means 12 includes a table 40 actuated for pivoting movement about the axis of bearings 41 by means of a compound fluid operated piston arrangement of the pivot axis.

supports for the respective endsof the crankshaft. seen particularly in Figures 6 and 7 supports 48 and 49 carry diameters 50 and 51 respectively when the table is pivoted upward. In Figure 6 the vrshaped supports48= and 49 are below the supporting Vs 14 oflthe gagingsta The edges of plates 45. and 46have been. suitgaging.

' .2. Plates 45 and 46 extending respectively fromjthe 'lefthand and righthand sidesof table 40 provide V shaped ably chamfered to guide a crankshaftinto the V supports. 7

during loading. Guide rails 60, 61, 62 and.6ia extend from the receiving end of the table and to theother side Article handling means 12 postion of the apparatus illustrated in Figure 6 the supporting Vs of the handling means 12 whichreceive the crankshaft upon loading have been. moved downward toteach side of .the gagingstation and belowthe V supports 14 included therein. Thus the crankshaftzis solely supported andtlocated during gaging by the V supports of. the gaging station itself. 7 12 is actuated formovement about its pivot axis and upward the crankshaft is lifted from the gaging station and, if the' dimensions. are satisfactory, is carried to an upper position indicated at 70 for automatic unloading. At an intermediate position 71 crankshafts are delivered and loaded onto the V supports 48, 49 and 54.

A retaining finger74 in the plane of V support 49 atthe lefthand portion of the article handling. means 12 and a similar retaining finger 75 in the plane of V support, 54 at the opposite side of the handling means serve to maintain thecrankshaft over the V supports and prestop 80 by tension spring;81. However, when table 40; is moved beyond load position 71 and upward to unload position 70, roller .82 moves .into engagement with an adjustablestop 84 to rotateretaining finger 75 clockwise as viewed in Figure 1 and against a stop 85. When in that'position the surfaceof finger 75 adjacent the diameter 52 of the crankshaft is inalignment with-the'adjacent surface of the, V support 54.. V

. Retaining finger 74 at theother. side'of the apparatus is, similarly and simultaneouslyactuated. This finger is connected to oneend of shaft 90 which. extends through plate 45 and carries actuating projection 91 and ilimit arm 92 at its outer end. against adjustable stop 94. .In Figure 8 roller 96 on prohas three positions. In the- When the handling means.

t a roller 43 to provide a signal when acrankshaft is in position on the Vs of thehandling means 12. Asseen. inFigure 2 both the switch unit and, roller 43. are below,

In Figure .6 limit arm' 92 is jection 91 isagainst adjustable. stop 97 and-finger74 has been swung over against stop 95 into, alignment with adqacent surface of V support 49(note Figure 7 to allow the crankshaftto roll onto. the guide rails.

When the table .40 is pivoted to its extreme. upward position for unloading and the crankshaft is carried from V the gaging station and is released from the V'supports 48, "t9 and 54 in a mannerlater described the-journals are supported for sliding movement, along rails 61'an d 62.

When the crankshaft initially moves onto the rails it rotates until the crank in alignment withrail 63Qengages the rail and its rotation is stopped. This limits rotation of the crank in one direction. As the crankshaft slides" further down the rails a rearward extending crank in,

Qingposition at the rear oftheapparatusa This. locksdhe crankshaft against rotation. The crank orientation is -then as shown diagrammatically in-Figure -7. Suitable,

transfer mechanism mechanism included in the line and not illustrated in detail receives the crankshaft at this point. The crankshaft slides from rails 60-63 onto railcontinuations indicated at 65. transfer. line. V 7

Handling means 12 is moved to its-various positions through the operation of compound piston arrangement Referring to Figure 1 it will-beseen that this arrange: ment includes a pair of cylinders .99 and Whichare relatively fixed. A piston 101 in cylinder 99 is-connected at .103 to table 40 and piston 102- is connected at 195 to the base 10. Supply and'returnc'onduits lead to the respective ends of both cylinders 99 and 100 and fluid pressures can be applied to move the pistons in response to the signals porvided during gaging. For example, withboth pistons retracted within their -respec and forming part of the away. If the crankshaft dimensions are not" satisfactory a suitable circuit can be provided to leave. the crankshaft in the station for removal manually while'stopping' the.

machine which produced the crankshaft. 'Iffthe dimen sions are satisfactory bothpistons 102 and 101 can be,

extended to raise the handling means to its uppermost position, releasing the crankshaft for movement down.

the guiding rails. Following this with piston 102 alone.

1 extended the apparatus will be setfor. loading.

A switch unit is mounted ontable 40,and includes the crankshaft during gaging. A series of cams .111;

rotatable with table 40 serve to actuate switches'11 2to feed into the electrical circuit position.indicationsof the table movements.

Thus it is seen that 'an apparatus has been provided} for loading and unloading parts such as automotive ,crankshafts from a gaging station in a simple and efiicient manner. The crankshaft is located precisely during. gag: ing and free of the handling means. Provision has been made for orientating the crankshaft. cranks as desired and delivering the crankshaft to a selected point for. movement along the assembly line. Through the com pound piston arrangement the various movements of the. handling means are carried out in a simple andeflieient manner. a V i '7 i 7 It is to be understood that this invention is nottlimited to the precise form illustrated but that 'changes may be made therein without departing from the scope of thev invention which is defined in theappended claims,

What is claimed is:

l. A gaging apparatus comprising a base, a gaging station on said base including means for gagingdimensional characteristics of anarticleplaced therein, locating means fixedly mounted in said station toengageand sup port an article in'associationwith said gagingmeans during gaging, article handling means carried on said base for up and down movement from and towardthegaging station, actuating means connected.tosaidhandlingmeans from a loading position above the locating means for actuation of said handling means downward beyond said locating means to lower an article bygravitywontosaid; locating means and clear the article during gaging, said,

locating means being disposedonsaid base to the sides of said handling means and in the path. of -article move-. ment, whereby said article is solely supported and located by said locating means during gaging, said aetuatingmeans includingmeans to raise saidhandling means upwardpast said locating means to lift an article therefrom to a predetermined vertical position following gaging.

A gaging-apparatus wfnPrising. -b t i.. -sasins. a:t

tion on said base including means for gaging dimensional characteristics of an article placed therein, locating means in said station to engage and support an article in association with said gaging means during gaging, article handling means carried on said base for up and down movement from and toward the gaging station, actuating means connected to said handling means for actuation of said handling means from a loading position above said locating means downward beyond said locating means to lower an article onto said locating means for gaging and clear the article during gaging, whereby said article is soiely supported and located by said locating means during gaging, said actuating means comprising a first means to raise said handling means from a position below said locating means to a first position thereabove and a second means operative in conjunction with said first means to raise said handling means to a second higher position, one of said first and second positions being a loading position and the other an unloading position.

3. A gaging apparatus comprising a base, a gaging station on said base including means for gaging dimensional characteristics of an article placed therein, locators in said station to enage and support an article in association with said gaging means, article handling means carried on said base for substantially vertical movement toward and from the gaging station, actuating means connected to said handling means for actuation of said handling means downward beyond said locators to lower an article onto said locators, whereby said article is solely supported and located by said locators during gaging, said actuating means comprising fluid operated means including a unit having a pair of relatively fixed opposed cylinders, pistons operative in the cylinders having connection means extending at opposite ends of the unit, the connecting means of one of said pistons being connected to said handling means and the other to said base, whereby extension of one of said pistons raises said handling means from a position below said locators to the first position thereabove and extension of both pistons raises the handling means to a second, higher position, one of said first and second positions being a loading position and the other an unloading position.

4. A gaging apparatus comprising a base, a gaging station on said base including means for gaging dimensional characteristics of an article placed therein, locators in said 'station to engage and support an article in association with said gaging means, article handling means carried on :said base for pivoting movement relative thereto, said handling means including receiving means at one side of the pivot axis and guide means leading therefrom, actuating means connected to said handling means for actuation downward to carry said receiving means below said locators to lower an article onto said locators, whereby :said article is solely supported and located by said locators rduring gaging, said actuating means including means to ;raise said receiving means to a position above the pivot axis and to incline said guide means downward relative to ;the receiving means to lift an article past said locators :and to a position for movement by gravity down the guide means from the receiving means for unloading.

5. A gaging apparatus comprising a base, a gaging station on said base including means for gaging dimensional characteristics of an article placed therein, locators in said station to engage and support an article in association with said gaging means, article handling means carried for pivoting movement on said base, said handling means having receiving means at one side of the pivot axis and guide means leading therefrom, said receiving means including retaining means for maintaining an article in the receiving .means and against movement onto the guide means, actuating means connected to said handling means for pivoting movement to carry said receiving means downward beyond said locators to lower an article onto said locators, .said locators being to the sides of the path of movement of said receiving means and in the path of article movement, whereby said article is solely supported and located by said locators during gaging, said actuating means including means to pivot said handling means to carry said receiving means to a first position above said locators for loading and to a still higher position for unloading, and means in said apparatus operative at said higher position to release said retaining means and allow movement of the article by gravity down the inclined guide means for unloading.

6. An apparatus for gaging dimensional characteristics of a crankshaft comprising a base, a gaging station on said base including means for gaging dimensional characteristics of a crankshaft placed therein, locators in said station to engage and support the crankshaft in association with said gaging means, crankshaft handling means carried for pivoting movement on said base, said handling means having receiving means at one end thereof and at one side of the pivot axis and guide means leading therefrom, said receiving means being provided for supporting engagement with each end of a crankshaft and having a relative spacing to span the gaging station and move downward therebeyond, actuating means connected to said handling means for pivoting movement thereof to carry said receivers downward beyond said locators to lower a crankshaft onto said locators for gaging, said actuating means including a first means to raise said handling means and carry said receiving means from a position below said locators to a first position thereabove and a second means operative in conjunction with said first means to raise said handling means to a second higher position for un loading, said receiving means including retaining means for maintaining an article in the receiving means and against movement onto the guide means and means in said apparatus to release said retaining means at the higher position to allow movement of the crankshaft down the inclined guide means for unloading.

7. The gaging apparatus of claim 6 wherein said guide means includes means to engage and orientate the cranks of the crankshaft as the crankshaft moves downward therealong.

8. A gaging apparatus as set forth in claim 6 wherein said actuating means comprises fluid operating means including a pair of relatively fixed cylinders and pistons movable therein, one of said pistons being connected to the handling means and the other to the base whereby extension of one piston pivots the handling means to carry the receiving means to a first loading position above the gaging station and extension of both pistons raises the receiving means to the higher unloading position.

9. An apparatus for gaging dimensional characteristics of a crankshaft, comprising a base, a gaging station on said base including means for gaging dimensional characteristics of a crankshaft placed therein, locators in said station to engage and support the crankshaft in association with the gaging means for gaging, an article handling table carried for pivoting movement on said base, said table including extended receivers at one end thereof and guide means extending from the receivers along the table, each of said receivers including a V- support for engagement with a respective end of the crankshaft for support thereof and having a relative spacing allowing movement of the receivers downward to each side of the gaging station and beyond, each receiver having a retaining finger cooperating therewith to retain the respective end of the crankshaft in the V- support and against movement onto the guide means, each retaining finger having an actuating projection, means cooperating between each finger and the table maintaining the finger normally in retaining position, actuating means connected to said table for pivoting movement thereof to carry the receivers downward and beyond said locators to lower an article onto said 10- cators for gaging, said actuating means including means to raise the table and carry the receivers to a first upward position for loading and to a second higher posiment with said actuatingjpr ojections topivot the retaining fingers into alignment with theadjacent surfaces of:theassociated V-supports and parallel to the guide means: wherebythe crankshaft is free for movement down the. guide means for unloading. I

10. A gagingv apparatus asset'forth in claim 9 where in said guide means includes a plurality of parallelrails; a pair of said rails'being positioned for engagement with journals of the crankshaft and a pair being disposed for locating engagement with cranks of the crank ShafLLWhereby the crankshaft is orientated as desired during its movement down the guide rails.

11. The gaging apparatus of claim 9Wherein said actuating means comprises fluid operated means includingapair of relatively fixed cylinders and pistons operative therein, oneof said pistons being connected to' the handling means andthe other to'the base whereby extension'of one raises the handling means to :the first position above thegaging station and extension ofboth raises'the handling'meanstothe secondunloading position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS- Kent June 1, 1954- 

